This weekend was great...probably one of the best I've had in a while! It was a great way to kick off summer…and made me actually look forward to the rest of it!

Friday, we picked Bean up from daycare and went to the park. She had a blast, but was totally bummed when we left. We went home, made and ate dinner, played a while. Then, we made Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie. It was quite tasty and Lilly really liked it. After our treat, we headed to bed.

Saturday, Bean and I got up and she helped me make coffee. We played a while and did some cleaning and finally woke up Lee. We went to Key's for breakfast (which is always a nice time) and got a quick oil change. Then, we headed down to Minneapolis for the Mill City Farmers Market. We putzed around for quite a while. We bought some jam, curry feta, passion fruit green tea and a croissant (for Bean...which she demolished). Going really made me miss living in the area...where everything is so accessible and where you have a ton of markets in the summer to choose from. Anywoo, after the Farmers Market, we were going to head to Pride, but we opted not too since we had gotten some cheese at the Farmers Market. Instead, we headed to Starbucks (for Mommy and Daddy) and then to Half Price Books for an hour or so. Bean got a couple books and some Barney stickers, which she was super excited about. We headed for home (with a quick stop at Target to get a few things) and took a little afternoon nap. When we woke up, we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa for a while. Grandma had gotten Bean some knew underwear (trying to get her interested in potty training by the lure of fun undies), so we put them on her and hung out on the deck with the potty chair. She had a few accidents, but kept trying to make it on time. Each time, we would clean her up and get her a new pair. Eventually, she had had enough accidents because she told me she wanted her diaper. We had dinner, made some more ice cream, played for a bit, then headed to bed after a full day.

Tuckered Out After Some Farmers Market-ing and Book Looking

Sunday, Lee got up with Bean and let me rest for an extra bit. It was nice. I got up, we got ready and the three of us headed for Minneapolis once again to watch the Pride Parade and hit up the Pride Festival. We got downtown, found parking, grabbed our stuff and headed to Hennepin Avenue. Bean and I cheered on the folks running for the Rainbow Run for a while and then we set up our chairs in a really good spot and the waiting began. Bean did pretty well, despite having to wait for almost an hour…thank goodness for snacks and people watching! The parade was good. She enjoyed it for a while, but then got frustrated because some %@(&!*# jerks came and stood in front of us and were just being dumb. It was okay, however, because people in the parade kept coming to give her candy, flags and necklaces…which she loved. Eventually, however, more people kept moving in front of us because they were stupid and drunk, so we decided to drop off the chairs at the car and head to the festival. About two minutes before we got there, Bean passed out and didn’t wake up for quite some time. Lee and I strolled around, got dehydrated and eventually decided to head back. Bean woke up just as we were leaving, so we walked by a few tents/booths so she could play a spinner game/get a necklace/sucker. She enjoyed it. That was that! We grabbed some food and hit home!

Post-Parade In The Skyway...She Fell Asleep A Short Time Later...

I got pretty burned on my back…even though I had sunscreen on. Oh, well. It is what it is. It was way hot out, but I really had a great time with my little family and look forward to a fun rest of summer! What a way to spend the first official weekend of summer!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Now, I have heard this song a few times on the radio and haven't really given it much thought. For some reason, however, on my way home last night, I turned it up and really dug it!

It made me miss singing.

You can think that is lame and be all, "Katie, you sing all the freakin' time...yada...yada..." but that isn't exactly what I mean. If you know me from back in the dizzle (yes...the dizzle...), you know that singing was a HUGE part of my middle and high school careers (along with drumline...but that is a whole different story...). It was a huge part of why my best friend is my best friend. Kim and I pretty much did our entire singing career together.

Junior High Choir Class
7 Up Singers
8th Grade After School Choir
The Sextet
High School Concert Choir
Hawaii Choir
Singing at Graduation

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

They may have been two...more "untraditional" workouts...but workouts nonetheless.

First, mowing the lawn in the 90°F heat and super humidity. The lawn isn't huge, it is just four different sections with some funny turns and spaces...especially the back yard!

After that made me good and sweaty, I told Lilly I had a brilliant idea and we should go swimming. In the big pool. Her eyes were huge and lit up. I couldn't believe how excited she was! I had her have Daddy get her in her swimper while I got in my swim suit and grabbed hers. We put her suit on, grabbed some towels, and headed out back.

Last year, she had NO interest in the pool. We tried bringing her in a few times, but she would scream and want out. This made me nervous, but she seemed excited, so we went for it. We sat on the edge at first and dangled our feet. It was FREEZING COLD...about 12°F is my guess. I asked Lilly if she wanted to go in and she did, so I held her under the armpits and let her dip in a bit. She kicked and was smiling and having a grand ol' time. Eventually, we decided it was too cold to swim, wrapped ourselves in our towels and headed toward the house. Then, came the "I don' wanna go in da house. I wanna go in da poo." I dipped her in a few more times and then pulled her out, stood her up, sighed and asked, "Do you want Mama to come in and go swimming with you?" She screamed "YEAH!!!" and it was decided. We went back up on the deck, dropped off our towels, and stuck our feet in again. I told her to give me a minute to get used to it and I slooooowwwly slipped in. She kept trying to hop into my arms, but I kept telling her to at least give me a chance to get off of my tippy-toes and onto my flat feet in the water (yeah...it was that kind of cold). Eventually, I just took a breath and dunked down to my shoulders, stood back up and grabbed Lil. We walked around in the water for a while, looked at the filter and the water pump, and then the fun started.

I got her to do a little swimming (kicking while I held her under the arms and tummy) and she pretended she was both a fish and a frog. Then, we spent quite a while running and swimming away from all the different things that were chasing us. Every single time we would get a break, something else would come after us. There were (but not limited to) a bear, the Forte Giant (from Little Einsteins), a tiger, a pair of pants (yes...a pair of pants) and some big bugs. These all came from Tooties brain...it is amazing what comes out of a 2 year old's mind. We had a great time smiling and giggling and spending time together. I got hugs and kisses and "I love you, Mama"s and we had a great time. Eventually, she was cold, so we went in and took a warm bath.

I asked her if we should do that again sometime. She agreed that was a good idea.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I haven't eaten Chipotle in a really, really, REALLY long time, but having not eaten much yesterday, I ran out and grabbed a massive burrito once they wheeled Lee back to surgery.

Chicken.
Brown Rice.
Black Beans.
Fresh Tomato Salsa.
Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa.
Sour Cream.
Cheese.
Lettuce.
In My Belly.
Delicious.
I haven't had one in a million years and I can never finish the entire thing. Apparently, I was hungry yesterday and ate the whole damn thing. It tasted like heaven and I want another one now. *food issues*

Anyway, speaking of Lee's surgery...it went well! He had a meniscal repair since he someone managed to tear his meniscus. He slept pretty much the entire evening after we got home (anesthesia does that to you, I guess) and today, he is home resting. And he thought he'd be back at work today...psh... With some rest and Percocet, he will be on the track to healing. Geez...he isn't even allowed to shower until tomorrow (he is sleeping on the couch again tonight whether he likes it or not...stinky...).

BTW...I just spellchecked and the first word that came up to "fix" Chipotle? Chortle. Kali...say what?!?

Also, this week starts my summer of working four 10 hour days with Mondays off. At work at 5:30 a.m. and leaving at 3:30 p.m. Gonna be some long days! And you'd think traffic would be a breeze, right? NO! There was less of it, but people were only doing about 65 on the freeway...in the fast lane...lame!

Monday, June 18, 2012

I've said it before and I will say it again: the Minneapolis Half Marathon was Hell.

I haven't even put on my running shoes since.

Today, that changed.

Once the rain/lightening/thunder stopped, I put them on, laced them up, went for a quick walk with Dad, grabbed my iPod and was off into the sun.

It was terrible outside. Like I said, it had just stopped raining and the sun was blazing, so the humidity was WAY up. It was 85% by the time I got back...and it was better when I got back... I'm not a fan of the summer because I DON'T. LIKE. HEAT.

I hate being hot...and ugh...I am hot right now.

Anyway, I had no plans for this run other than to stick in the neighborhood in case in went poorly. I looped a few times and when I thought I couldn't run any further, I pushed down one more road and then home. I saw that I had done 2.44 miles and knew I could bump it to 3.25 miles, but not outside. Came inside and hoped on the treadmill to finish it out.

3.25 miles in 33:26 seconds.

It wasn't pretty, but I did it and I'm glad I did.

And I wasn't so pretty afterwards...

I had planned to do something else today, too. Perhaps some strength training or biking or something, but being my first day back and in the humidity...just didn't happen. PS...I think it is about to rain again...

Now, to shower, grab some grub, finish a bit of laundry, and go get my husband from work for his surgery.

BTW...Lee is having knee surgery today...he tore his meniscus and they are going to fix it...30 minute procedure...I will keep you posted.

Monday, June 11, 2012

After over a month of not really watching what I've been eating (first Baltimore, then Europe, then I was sick and not eating much, but then I was eating whatever), I'm getting "back on the horse." I've got my trusty steel cut oats and cinnamon this morning and I've got some new workout plans to add to my repetoire.

I think my main goal for now is to tighten things up. I really want to tone my tummy. After I had Lilly and then lost all of my weight, I had have a big, saggy, squishy tummy of loose, stretch-marked skin (gross...I know...). I'm hoping I can at least tighten it up a little bit and maybe that will make me feel better...comfortable in a two piece swim suit, perhaps???

I plan on running still and adding in biking, as well (Duathalon will be here before we know it), but I will surely be amping up things with some strength training and such.

How are your health plans coming along? Do you have one? Is it working?

Thursday, June 7, 2012

I will simply start out by saying this race was pure Hell...and I don't make that statement lightly...

I stayed at Jason's the night before and we got up bright and early at 5 a.m. (okay...I was awake before 4:30...). We got ready (I had a nice 10 minute coughing fit...great way to start the day...) and headed out to pick up Jen from her parking spot and then went to our parking spot to get ready and take our usual before-race photos.

The "Before" Shot

After parking and taking our quick pictures, we headed across the Stone Arch Bridge for a quick stop at the Port-A-Potties and then getting ready at the starting line.

We waited for what seemed like forever. We could feel the heat quickly rising and we knew it was going to be a hot run. They started letting the Half Marathoners go in waves. After about ten minutes, we finally crossed the starting line and we were on our way.

After about a mile, I knew I was in trouble. My knee was starting to bug me and I was having trouble breathing already. While in Europe, I caught some sort of cold bug and hadn't been able to kick it. By 1.5 miles, I told Jason I was having trouble breathing and had to walk. I told him to keep going, so he wished me well and I slowed to walk. My nose was full of mucus and I had a major coughing fit, trying to clear my lungs. It didn't help. From that point forward, I figured I wouldn't finish, but quickly developed a plan to run for two songs and walk for one.

This worked for a while, but fizzled into run one song walk one song. My lungs and their goo weren't cooperating, so it turned into "speed-walk-like-a-mofo-and-jog-when-you-can-force-yourself". I took my first gel at the mile 4 water stop and it made my stomach do flip flops. It made the rest of the race miserable. I knew I was screwed because I couldn't chance taking another gel, even though I really could have used the energy. I took too much water at one of the later water stops and then thought I was going to throw up from the water sloshing in my stomach every time I ran. I treasured the shade because I was SO hot (I'm a heat baby...) and dreaded every inch that didn't have any dark spots.

Eventually, I bolted across the finish line, grabbed my medal and water, and made a beeline for the potty (I didn't dare make a pit stop during the race after what happened during the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon). I got out and gave Lee and Lilly big hugs. Once we met up with everyone and I recovered for a minute, we headed to the car for the post-race photos.

The "After" Photo...We Looked Better Than We Felt...

Promptly following this photo, I turned to the left and emptied my stomach of it's contents on the grass. Ever vomited hot water that went in cold? No fun.

My final results?

My Official Chip Time

Terrible. At least I finished within three hours... Better luck next time. Hopefully, I will not be sick and will not have been out of the country for two weeks prior to the next half...